After 19 seasons, Beautyfix is officially closing up shop. While I’m also officially sad to see Beautyfix go (I have separation issues—especially with beauty products), I’m really excited about DermStore’s new and improved beauty discovery program, the blush Mystery Beauty Box available at blush.com. If you love the brands featured in Beautyfix, I assure you that you’ll love this beauty box just as much (if not more). Here’s what’s great about this box:

Each month, you get over $100 worth of mostly full-size and some travel-size skin care, makeup and hair care products—curated by a new beauty expert each month

As in any DermStore, blush or HairEnvy order, you get a free gift, free samples and free shipping on every order

You have a choice to try one box for just $34.95, or you can sign up for monthly subscription and save $10 a month

If you think about it, it really comes out cheaper than Beautyfix. And if you’re a beauty junkie just like all of us here, you’ll love the thrill of not knowing what beauty products you’re going to try each month. It really is the best way to discover and experience new beauty brands and products. In fact for July, I was so happy to see that the box actually has 6 full-sized products—that’s way, way better than any beauty box out there!

I’m sure I’ll miss Beautyfix. (I mean, if it weren’t for Beautyfix, I wouldn’t have discovered some of my favorite brands like Eminence, Nick Chavez and jane iredale—brands that you don’t normally see in your local, brick-and-mortar beauty store, or being advertised on TV.) But with the blush Mystery Beauty Box arriving at my doorstep anytime soon, I’m sure I’ll get my addiction to beauty products equally satiated.

It’s kind of like that old saying goes: out with the old, in with the new! It’s been an amazing run, but Beautyfix is coming to an end. Rest assured, we’ve now got something even better to offer!

The new program—brought to you by blush.com— is called blush Mystery Beauty Box, and starting August 1, it will be replacing Beautyfix entirely. Believe me when I say: it’s something to get excited about for so many reasons!

For one, blush Mystery Beauty Box is a monthly thing. That’s 12 times a year versus 4 times a year that you have to look forward to an amazing box of beauty goods being delivered right to your door. Any questions?

Second, blush Mystery Beauty Box is only $34.95 per month. BUT, if you sign up for auto-refill to receive it every month, you’ll get it for just $24.95. Considering that there is always over $100 worth of full and deluxe sample-size products inside the box—curated by our panel of beauty experts, of course—that is a pretty sweet deal!

]]>http://blog.beautyfix.com/index.php/goodbye-beautyfix-hello-blush-mystery-beauty-box/feed/0The Best Kept Secret Is Out! How To Achieve A Less Oily Complexionhttp://blog.beautyfix.com/index.php/the-best-kept-secret-is-out-how-to-achieve-a-less-oily-complexion/
http://blog.beautyfix.com/index.php/the-best-kept-secret-is-out-how-to-achieve-a-less-oily-complexion/#commentsTue, 09 Jul 2013 17:47:25 +0000Belindahttp://blog.beautyfix.com/?p=5494Summer is the time of year when my oily skin goes into overdrive! I find myself patting my oily complexion throughout the day with tons of oil-blotting papers to get rid of the shine. Hot and humid weather conditions actually accelerate the oil-producing process, especially in the T-Zone area. Having oily skin has its benefits such as a youthful appearance and softer skin, but I don’t want to look like my skin is melting with my makeup running down my face. Enter Santalia Daily Cleanser, a gentle foaming cleanser formulated especially for oily and blemish-prone skin.

These days, prepping your nails for the 4th of July is more of an ordeal than prepping them for your own wedding – thanks to Pinterest posts, glitter stars and the oh-so-trendy firework nail wraps. However, the brutal pain I endured from scrubbing off my festive red, white and blue sparkles left me wanting a simple, summer shade to kick off the post-holiday weekend! SpaRitual has a gorgeous lacquer called I Am The Light which is just what I was looking for… and luckily I found it in this season of BeautyFix!

The bottle looked like a soft baby pink shade with a hint of blue undertones, but when it dried on my nails (in no time at all, might I add) the shade actually deepened to more of a lilac and lavender hue. It painted smooth in each controlled sweep as the patented Plum Cap™ has a non-slip grip to allow for the best mani/pedi possible. One coat wasn’t too transparent; however, I used two since I like my lacquer to be a little more obvious. I almost forgot to finish with a clear top coat due to the polish’s own shine and luster!

I always find myself doing some homework on a brand after deciding how much I really like one of its products, in hopes of falling in love with its mantra and more products from its collection. To my surprise, I learned that SpaRitual is actually a vegan-based brand with nail lacquer bottles made from Italian-crafted and recycled glass. Healthy and green? My attention had been caught! Free of synthetic dyes, parabens, toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor and DBP, (and probably other nasty ingredients I can’t pronounce) the entire SpaRitual line is the epitome of a top-grade beauty brand.

Please tell me you’re not using your heat styling tools in this scorching weather. Please tell me you’re doing the world a huge favor by not adding to the heat! If you still are, consider this post an intervention. Please step away from those tools and listen to me very carefully: summer sun + metal plates = toasted strands!

The good news is that nobody cares if your hair is a little bit on the unpolished side when it’s 100 degrees out. That doesn’t mean, however, that “unpolished” can’t be chic. Here, I give you 3 no-heat hairstyles for summer. (Actually, I sport these styles all year round because I’m too lazy to use styling a tool.) These are all so easy to do, they don’t take more than 2 minutes, and you only need your pair of hands, some hair ties and NickChavez Horsetail Root Lift Spray. While it’s great to work with your natural hair texture, none of these hairstyles will look great on limp and flat hair, which is why a volumizing spray is necessary. I like this one in particular because unlike other sprays, this one isn’t sticky, smells great and adds a glossy sheen. Now that we got that out of the way, here are 3 ways to add oomph to your summer hair.

1. Tousled Waves

Beachy waves are just as much of a summer staple as SPF. But if you don’t have natural waves, create them! Here’s how: At night, braid your hair while your hair is still damp. Spray Nick Chavez on your roots before unraveling your hair in the morning for that bombshell finish.

2. Messy Pony

Ponytails are making a huge comeback. Not that they were ever out of style, but recently we’ve been seeing a lot of them on and off the red carpet.For a summer-perfect pony, flip your towel-dried hair forward and mist it with volumizing spray from roots to ends. Once it’s dry, scoop your hair up in a high pony. (For that beautiful mess, don’t bother using a comb or a hairbrush.) Run your fingers through your crown and loosen big clumps of hair to add volume and texture.

3. Undone Bun

Or, instead of a high pony, tie your hair up in a loose low bun. Pull your bun slightly away from your head until a few face-framing strands fall naturally on the side.

There you have it! 3 ways to make hairstyling easy and fuss-free this summer!

Have I told you enough about how much I love summer? No? Well I do! Vacations, pools, the heat, everything is just sunshine and rainbows. With temps this weekend reaching up to 118 degrees in the Southwest (OMG), I’m trying and succeeding at beating the heat. I don’t mean just staying cool, what I mean is at every summer soiree; I’ll have a bright lip and lashes on to match my golden glow. There are tricks to keeping your skin fabulous and your makeup fresh and I’m generous enough to share it with you.

First thing’s first: Sunscreen duh! Instead of using just any old drugstore sunscreen, the only ones that touch my face need to not only block those rays, but actually do something for my skin. Enter La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios 50 Tinted Mineral Ultra Fluid Sunscreen. Check it, it’s like a primer, moisturizer and sunscreen all in 1. I slather this on as a base, dust my face with a little Jane Iredale powder (with spf in it of course) and my skin is primed and protected. Everyone should do this, you’ll look fabulous and it feels like you’re wearing nothing!

Hats are key. Hear me out. The last thing you want is your face to be in direct sunlight. A big, fun floppy hat is trendy and takes care of any shade issues. It’s like you have your own personal Fonzworth Bentley on your head. One important thing about your hat is to keep it simple and don’t go into anywhere with misters or water if your hat has possible bleeding color. I’m not kidding, I’ve seen it happen. My girlfriend looked amazing with a multi-colored floppy hat, before she went into the pool. A few splash-a-thon’s later, the color was literally dripping onto her skin. MAJOR FAIL. Don’t do it.

The coup de grace: Vichy’s Thermal Spring Water. It’ll get that summer heat in a choke hold before ever reaching your skin. This product is magical and of course, it’s in this season’s kit. Now that you have it, stock up on it and take it with you EVERYWHERE. It’s a 100% pure mineral-rich water that helps improve your skin’s overall look and feel. It’s so refreshing and perfect for summer I can’t even deal. The fine mist is soothing and really regenerates my complexion whenever I need a pick me up. If there’s one product for summer, it’s this one. I personally try to keep it cold and spritz it on whenever I can throughout the day.

I know it’s not just me who finds it difficult to get the right kind of hydration during the summer. When it’s cold outside, my skin tends to feel super dry and I slather on a heavy moisturizer morning and night—so much that it’s honestly a wonder my makeup even stays on. And I NEVER get blemishes! This time of year, it’s a different story. I’ve noticed my favorite heavy moisturizers break me out and, generally speaking, just don’t do it for me. Thank goodness I discovered this product!

If you’re a gym person, you will LOVE the way it feels on your skin post-workout and face cleanse. It’s sort of like the cooling sensation you get from a product containing menthol, but without any kind of tingling or burning. (Key for skin like mine that’s red and flushed after a run.) If you’re not a gym person, you’ll still love it—if for no other reason than its profound ability to plump up your complexion and make it dewy soft without any greasiness. If ever there were a product for use underneath your sunscreen in the mornings, this is it, ladies!

I am a big Nailtiques fan and have been for years. I have a very distinct memory of my mom constantly applying the clear Nailtiques polish to her nails on long family car trips when I was younger. My mom, being a very natural beauty, hardly wore makeup, so this was my version of her applying lipstick before a date out with my father. It was the beauty tip I inherited from my youth (that and to drink a lot of water, but I digress).

When I learned that Nailtiques launched a new line of nail polish colors that feature on trend shades and still provided all the amazing benefits of their original formula, I was beyond excited! My mom, and subsequently I, originally fell in love with this amazing brand because their polish is specifically designed for nails that are soft, peeling, split or have trouble growing. The formula consists of a unique blend of protein and conditioners to help fortify the nails. The salon-tested formulations offer special combinations of ingredients, including keratin and protein to build a healthy nail foundation. The transformation in my nail health when I consistently wear the polish is so impressive it is hard to believe. Now that Nailtiques is available in awesome colors, I am even more in love! There are several colors available in Beautyfix this season and I was randomly given the deep red nail polish color- a shade that always makes me feel put together.

Recently, I took some time to soak up the while working to achieve my first official tan lines to get the Summer season started. I did my very best to avoid getting sun burn, but failed miserably. Instead of enjoying a new set of tan lines, I was slathering aloe vera all over my charred skin and wondering what I did wrong. I was trying to be so careful to avoid this.

Here are a few things I noticed, so take note as it might help you with sun safety and avoiding sun burns.

Always wear sunscreen

This seems like an obvious one, but I was shocked when I was laying out with my friends by the pool and they were not applying sunscreen as they wanted to get some ‘good color.’ You will still get tan, but less skin damage with a sunscreen.

Check the expiration date

Make sure you are using sunscreen within the suggested timeframe. If not, then it’s time to toss it and refresh your stock. Sunscreen (like most other things that expire) will not be effective past this date.

Re-apply

Just because it’s waterproof and water-resistant doesn’t mean you don’t have to re-apply. ALWAYS RE-APPLY and do it often. You should put sunscreen on at least 30 minutes prior to sun exposure and re-apply at least every two hours, maybe more often if you are swimming, sweating, etc.

Look for sunscreens labeled ‘broad spectrum’

Only sunscreens that pass a new test of UVA protection can be labeled “broad spectrum,” a claim that will indicate that the product protects equally against UVB (turns skin red and causes cancer) and UVA (ages the skin and causes cancer) rays. The new season of Beautyfix has an awesome broad spectrum sunscreen called Gytone Spray Mist Broad Spectrum SPF 50. This sunscreen is a non-greasy formula that hydrates & protects the skin without clogging pores. It helps to prevent the signs of aging due to sun exposure.

Don’t let the SPF fool you

SPF only refers to protection against UVB rays, the ones responsible for burning the skin. It doesn’t have anything to do with protection against UVA rays that penetrate the skin deeper and can lead to skin cancer. This is why it’s important to look for broad spectrum. The EWG recommends purchasing sunscreens with SPFs higher than 15 but no greater than 50.Often times sky-high SPFs can give us a false sense of security. Many doctors argue that a higher number tricks people into thinking their sunscreen lasts longer than one with a lower SPF, causing them to reapply less often, so they’re more at risk for burns.

Stay in the shade

Sunscreen is just one factor of an overall plan for skin protection. It’s also important to stay in the shade as much as possible and wear protective clothing like hats and long sleeves. This is not the most ideal way to get a ‘good color’ but it will help with keeping your skin healthy, hydrated and protected.

Summer is only a few weeks away and what better way to get ready with the upcoming season of Beautyfix that starts tomorrow June 12. I’m super excited about the newbeauty product picks in every category that I know you’ll love too! From dazzling nail colors to top notch anti-aging skin care and hair care, Beautyfix has all the essentials you’ll need to be the perfect beauty all summer long!

I thought I was going to have a tough time picking my must-have product this season but surprisingly my favorite by far was Jane Iredale POMMISST Hydration Spray. And you ask why I’m obsessed with this spray-on formula? Well it’s simple, everything Jane Iredale formulates has fantastic benefits for your skin! This one is my favorite for a few reasons:

It’s a lightweight spray that instantly refreshes and cools the skin.

Sea minerals and pomegranate extract help hydrate and protect against free-radical damage to maintain a youthful complexion.

It’s the perfect hydrating moisturizer for oily skin types.

I’ve been using this spray every day it’s almost all gone! I know I will definitely be stocking up with more. Here’s a complete list of the new beauty product picks that will be featured on Beautyfix.